The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-15

! tell Coroner Dixon and a MORNING NEWS
reporter of these practices before the IN
| quest, and he replied that he did not.
On the redirect examination he said that
he had no recollection of trying TO borrow
the pistol on the day of the shooting; he had
borrowed it once when he was going to the
Salvation Army and once again when he
went out at night, and on the Monday night
specified he tried to borrow one but could
not remember trying TO borrow it on the
day of the killing Re-cross examined he
said he had given the Coroner a pistol like
the one shown him. He got it from his
daughter after the shooting.
THE THREAT TO KILL.
Mrs. Sarah NJ. Tant. the grandmother of
the defendant and the mother of Mrs.
Thomas, corrohorated the testimony as TO
Mrs. Thomas belief that Vineyard was dead
when she married Thomas. She knew of
Thomas cruelty to his wife. His beating
her and choking her she knew of, and of
some other things Testimony similar to
| some given by Mrs. Thomas followed here.
Mrs Tant testified that Willie
knew of Thomas cruelty and abuse.
Mrs Tant testified that when her daughter
came to her house on the fatal Sunday her
face showed the mark where Thomas had
struck her with the broom, and her nose
was swelled and one of her eyes was purple
After Mrs. Thomas left the house Willie
came down stairs and asked what they were
talking about: if Thomas had been beating
his mother again. She told
him no at first, but afterwards his
aunt told him of it. He said: "Well, ma,
| that settles it! He has beaten my mother
four or five times and that is his last beat
ing" He went out on the porch and began
to cry. She had heard Willie tell Thomas,
after Thomas had knocked his wife down
| once before, that if he did not stop beating
his mother he would kill him. Mr. Thomas
laughed and walked into the parlOr and told
her what Willie had said, and witness told
Thomas that Willie would do it.
ss-examined she swore positively to
the bruises and marks on the face of Mrs.
Thomas. When Thomas and his wife left
the house and went to live with Mrs. Muir
ply, witness did not tell her husband of the
treatment of Mrs. Thomas by Thomas She
thought Tant and Thomas would fight,
and one or the other would be killed if
Mr.. Tant knew of it. She expected her
daughter to be killed by her husband. She
knew that warrants could be taken out and
Thomas confined in Jail, but thought that
when he got out of Jail he would kill her if
she had him confined.
On the redirect examination she said that
Wingard never beat his wife. His cruelty
consisted in neglect and failure to support
CORROBORATIvE EvIDENE.
Mrs. S. E. Parker, the sister of Mrs.
the other members of the family as to the
belief that Vineyard was dead before Mrs
Thomas married again. She gave similar
| testimony to that of Mrs Tant as to the
troubles between Thomas and his wife. She
| corroborated the testimony as to what oc-
| CURED on the morning of the killing,
when Mrs. TGnt and Mrs. Parker were
talking of Thomas cruelty after Mrs
| Thomas had told them of what
had occurred in the morning. On cross
| examination she stated that she told Willie
what had occurred, but stated that he did
| not say, That settles it," On being closely
| questioned she said that she was paving no
attention to Willie; she was attending to
! her business, and If Willie said TINT she did
not hear it. When asked when the last act
| of cruelty that Thomas performed before he
| left the house occurred, she said three
months She was told that her mother had
testified that it was only two weeks. She
said that if Mr.. duBignOn wanted her to
say it was two weeks she would say it. He
told her he wanted the truth and she said,
''Well, I'll say two weeks
THE DEFENDANTS STATEMENT.
Willie Vineyard then took the stand and
said: Gentlemen, the first brutal treat
ment that | knew of was at Dale, DiXOn's
mill on the Savannah, Florida and Western
railroad. | and my brother We're with them
then. She called me to supper and he
! told her if she did not stop call
ing me he would slap her She
kept on calling and he slapped her. After
| that he began beating my brother / told
him next time he hurt my mother l would
kill him. told him we wanted to come
! home. He gave me money to come home,
| but would not give my brother any.
Next time he treated her badly
was when he knocked my mother down
with a valse full of tools. One night after
that, heard my mother scream, and ran to
| the room. | asked her what was the mat
! ter and she would not tell me, but next
morning asked and she told me he threw her
| over the bed and she would have fallen out
of the window if Stats had not been nailed
across it. | warned him again that
the next time he hurt her l would
kill him. Then we moved to East
| Boundary and BroughtOn streets One
| night | heard noise in the room, and ran
out and saw grandma going upstairs. l
started up, but grandma sent me back to
bed. Next night heard a noise again, and
| stood at my mothers door and heard her
| ask him not TO choke her.
THAT SETTLES IT."
'She would tell me nothing next morning,
| but | laid down on the sofa and heard
mother tell grandma in the next room.
| Sunday morning Mitchell and | were talk
| ing about revolvers. | heard ma talking
and went into the hall and heard mother
| speak about Mr.. Thomas striking her
| i'll the face and trying to throw
! her out of the window. I
went to grandma and asked her what
mother said, but she would not tell me, but
aunty told me- and | said That settles it
| went out on the porch and cried. asked
| Mitchell for his revolver, but he would not
| lend it to me. / took it
out of his pocket. Grandpa did not
| give me a pistol. | went to Mr.. Thomas
house and met Mrs Murphy. / asked Mrs
| Murphy if ma was in, and she said yes. I
met ma and gave her the pie grandma had
| sent by me. Ma said son, have you brought
! the pie already and l said yes. Ma said
| what are they doing at home! and said
| nothing. / went up stairs and found Mr.
| Thomas living on the bed fred the pistol
and turned around. Mr.. Thomas was sit
| ting on the bed and fired again, and Mr.
| Thomas just laid down and never moved
after shot him That S all got to saw
Thomas E. Mitchell testified to Thomas
| knocking his wife down with valise, the
incident referred to by the preceding wit
ness. One evening Thomas was raising a
row in the house, cursing Mrs. Tant
Tommy, the younger of the Vineyard boys
tried to cut Thomas with a knife. When
Thomas knocked his wife down with the
valise witness went to the barracks and
tried to have Thomas arrested, but the Off